Voice messaging systems have become increasingly popular as a means for subscribers to such a system to convey audio messages to addressees within the voice messaging system. Existing voice messaging systems offer a subscriber such standard features as the ability to receive messages in a pre-defined mailbox, the ability for subscribers to access the pre-defined mailbox using, for example, the standard digits on a touch-tone telephone keypad, and the ability for the subscriber to delete, respond to, and forward messages in the mailbox. However, voice message subscribers (i.e., addressees) can become frustrated when receiving messages containing redundant introductory information. For example, it can often take up to thirty seconds to listen to the various introductions to a voice message pre-appended by each subscriber as the message moves through an organization. Voice mail addressees are also frustrated by receiving a voice mail message having a combination of proprietary and public information. The state of the art for voice messaging systems is such that there is no way for the originator of a voice message to allow a voice mail addressee to move through and act upon particular, pre-defined segments of a voice message. More generally, there currently does not exist a simple method for the voice mail addressee to eliminate excess message information and/or re-use a particular segment(s) of a received voice message, wherein, for example, the segment is determined by the message originator. Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide a voice messaging system and a method whereby a voice messaging system subscriber may pre-define segments within a voice mail message for current action by the subscriber, for later action by the subscriber, or for later action by an addressee to which the message is sent.
Additionally, many subscribers of voice messaging systems have experienced frustration when attempting to respond to or forward only a segment of a voice message that exists within a lengthy message. Accordingly, it would also be desirable to provide a method and system whereby a subscriber may define segments within a voice mail message and operate on each of the defined segments independently.